Paisley artist counts the cost of his brush with the establishment

LIKE the "sulky, sullen dame" of Tam O'Shanter, Scots artist Alexander Goudie is nursing his wrath to keep it warm. The object of his displeasure is what he describes as the Edinburgh-centric arts establishment that has decided not to buy a collection of more than 100 of his paintings dedicated to Robert Burns' epic poem.

Two years ago the National Gallery for Scotland launched an appeal to raise #500,000 to buy the works for the nation. Goudie was asked not to sell any more pieces individually because of the pending deal, but now he faces the prospect of seeing the collection broken up and sold off, one by one.

The complete series, valued at around #1 million, will go on show for the last time next month, and its creator says he is disappointed the paintings will not now be kept together. "I fear the whole Glasgow versus Edinburgh history was really at the bottom of it," says Goudie, "There are some people who were always going to be against the paintings being bought for Scotland." When attempts were being made to raise the necessary funding, Paisley-born Goudie described parts of the arts establishment being like "a mafia, hellbent on foisting their minority opinions on the public". Timothy Clifford, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "We were interested in acquiring these pictures subject to support from the Scottish Arts Council. But they have become a casualty of the Scottish gallery not happening in Glasgow." The 64-year-old artist, who has painted portraits of the Queen and Billy Connolly, says his interest in the Burns' poem stems from childhood. "It is a story which appeals to me. It is very illuminating and tells a lot about the Ayrshire and Scottish mind. It is very dramatic," he said. Goudie is still hoping that during next month's exhibition at the Roger Billcliffe Gallery in Glasgow an offer may come in which would mean the collection of paintings could be retained for the Scottish people. "They will always be my pictures and at least I will be able to visualise them as a whole," he said. "But it would be wonderful if somehow the paintings could be kept together." If the public response to the new show is anything like the reaction to the 1996 exhibition, which attracted 6,000 people, it is bound to be a success. His previous exhibitions at the Billcliffe gallery include Goudie at 50 and Goudie's Brittany. Later this year he will be staging another exhibition called Goudie's Glasgow. The Tam O'Shanter exhibition opens on Friday, May 7 at the Roger Billcliffe Gallery in Glasgow and runs until June 1.

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